LA Galaxy Academy teams gear up for Youth SúperClásico

CARSON, Calif. (Friday, March 21, 2014) – The LA Galaxy Academy is preparing for Saturday’s SúperClásico tripleheader between the Galaxy and Chivas USA’s Under-18, Under-16, and Under-14 academy teams as part of the 2013-2014 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season.

The USSDA SúperClásico kicks off at 9:30 a.m., as the Galaxy Academy U-14’s (12-1-3 overall, 39 pts.) take on the unbeaten Chivas USA U-14’s (10-0-6 overall, 36 pts.) at the Bell Gardens Sports Complex. The Galaxy U-14’s will be without the services of midfielder Jacob Muchnick and forward Tristan Weber as they were both called in to the U.S. U-14 Boys National Team training camp taking place this weekend in Carson.

The undefeated Galaxy Academy U-16’s (13-0-6 overall, 45 pts.), on the heels of a 3-1 road victory over San Diego Surf last weekend, take on Chivas USA U-16’s (7-8-5 overall, 26 pts.) at 2:30 p.m. in the last game of the tripleheader.

In the previous SúperClásico encounter this season, the Galaxy Academy U-18’s tied 1-1 against Chivas USA’s U-18’s, while the Galaxy Academy U-16’s defeated Chivas USA’s U-16’s 6-0 last October. This will be the second ever meet up between the two U-14 teams in Development Academy play. In their last meeting, the teams tied 2-2 with goals from Jesus Nunez and Edgar Salazar for the Galaxy.

LA GALAXY PLACED IN GROUP B OF GENERATION ADIDAS U-17 CUP FINALS: The LA Galaxy U-17’s were placed in Group B alongside Real Salt Lake, Toronto FC and England’s Stoke City for the finals of the 2013-14 Generation adidas U-17 Cup. The games kick off April 14 and feature U-17 teams from 17 MLS Clubs and three international clubs, including Chivas de Guadalajara (Mexico), Flamengo (Brazil) and Stoke City (England). FC Dallas will host the week-long tournament presented by Major League Soccer and sponsored by adidas. Tournament play began with three regional tournaments (East, Central and West) featuring U-17 teams from all 19 MLS Clubs. The Galaxy competed in two regional events from August 2013 through February 2014, finishing in the top three in the standings and earning a spot the international event. The groups and schedule of games can be found here.

JACOB MUCHNICK AND TRISTAN WEBER NAMED TO U.S. U-14 NATIONAL TEAM TRAINING CAMP:

LA Galaxy Academy products Jacob Muchnick and Tristan Weber were named to the 32-player roster by U.S. U-14 Boys National Team head coach Tony Lepore for the Under-14 Boys’ National Team training camp that will be held March 22-30 at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center in Carson, Calif.

Earlier this year, both Muchnick and Weber were among the 37 players called up by Lepore for the camp in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., from Feb. 1-9. To date, Muchnick, a Newport Beach, Calif. native, has scored one goal in 10 appearances for LA's youngest Development Academy team. Weber, a San Clemente, Calif. native, recently joined the Galaxy Academy from United FC. While on national duty, Muchnick and Weber will miss the upcoming Youth SuperClásico against an undefeated Chivas USA U-14 squad on Saturday, March 22 at the Bell Gardens Sports Complex at 9:30 a.m.

HANIF WRIGHT AND ERIC LOPEZ CALLED INTO U-15 U.S. NATIONAL TEAM CAMP: LA Galaxy Academy players Hanif Wright and goalkeeper Eric Lopez have been called up to the United States U-15 National training camp that is set to begin this Saturday, March 22 and run up until Sunday, March 30. The camp will be held in U.S Soccer’s National Training Center in Carson, Calif., and will be the second of this year for both players, as forward Wright and goalkeeper Lopez were among the 20 players called up by U-15 head coach Hugo Perez for the camp in Abu Dhabi that ran from Jan. 31-Feb. 9.

Wright and Lopez will miss the upcoming Youth SuperClásico that will take place this Saturday, March 22 at the Bell Gardens Sports Complex. The LA Galaxy U-16’s will be looking to extend their undefeated streak to 20 games when they face the Chivas USA U-16’s starting at 2:30 p.m. PT.

GALAXY U-12 NORTH COMPETE IN CAL SOUTH NATIONAL CUP SEMIFINALS: The LA Galaxy Academy U-12’s are one step away from reaching the Cal South National Cup Final. After three weeks of competition, the U-12 North squad reached the semifinals against FC Golden State that will be played this Saturday at 11 a.m. at Rancho Capistrano. Last weekend, the Galaxy U-12 North earned back-to-back victories in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinal stage. On Saturday morning, the Galaxy U-12 North defeated FC Los Angeles in penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in regulation time. A day later, the U-12 North squad went on to win their quarterfinal match as they defeated the Total Futbol Academy 3-2, earning a spot in the tournament’s semifinal. Prior to advancing to the semifinal match, FC Golden State earned a 1-0 win over the Fullerton Rangers last Sunday. The Galaxy’s U-12 North upcoming rival concluded the group phase in second place of Group E with nine points after three wins and a loss.

This year’s final championship match is set for Sunday, March 23 at 9 a.m. PT at Rancho Capistrano. The winning teams in each category will go on to represent Cal South at the U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regionals in Albuquerque, N.M. from June 16-22. The winners from the regionals will then move on to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship to be held in Maryland from July 21-27.

LA GALAXY U-13 TRYOUTS FOR PLAYERS BORN IN 2002: The LA Galaxy will hold tryouts for their Galaxy Academy Under-13 team on March 23 at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Players interested in trying out for the LA Galaxy Academy’s 2002 team for 2014/15 season can register now by submitting an application online at www.lagalaxy.com/AcademyTryouts. Players born in 2002 will have the opportunity to be coached and evaluated by the Galaxy Academy staff during camps. There will be a limited number of tryout spaces for the LA Galaxy Academy 2014/15 2002 team. This will be a fully funded official LA Galaxy Academy team competing in the SCDSL U13 Flight 1.Registration for these tryouts are free. For more information about the tryouts, please visit http://www.lagalaxy.com/academy.

STAY CONNECTED: To get the latest information about the LA Galaxy Academy and its teams, follow the club on twitter @LAGalaxyAcademy or on Facebook at Facebook.com/LAGalaxyAcademy. Schedule changes, score updates and news and insights are all provided via those accounts.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

Game

Date

LA Galaxy U-14’s vs. Chivas USA U-14’s

Saturday, Mach 22

Game will be played at the Bell Gardens Sports Complex 9:30 a.m.

LA Galaxy U-18’s vs. Chivas USA U-18’s

Saturday, March 22

Game will be played at the Bell Gardens Sports Complex at 12:00 p.m.

LA Galaxy U-16’s vs. Chivas USA U-16’s

Saturday, March 22

Game will be played at the Bell Gardens Sports Complex at 2:30 p.m.

LA Galaxy Academy U-12 North vs. FC Golden State

Saturday, March 22

Cal South National Cup Semifinal, game will be played at Rancho Capistrano Soccer Complex, Field 1 at 11:00 a.m.

Times and locations for all games are correct as of Friday, March 21. Click here for a complete schedule of games in the Southern California Development Soccer League and U.S. Soccer Development Academy, which includes the Galaxy Academy’s U-12, U-14, U-16 and U-18 teams.